Van Kleiss
Can drain nanites from E.V.O.s Creating E.V.O.s Superhuman strength and agility Hand-to-hand combat skills |gender = Male |hair color = Black with gray streaks |portrayed by: = Troy Baker |eye color = Dark red |weapons = Van Kleiss' Gauntlet }} Van Kleiss is the leader of the Pack and Abysus. He wants to take over the world and start a new era for E.V.O.-kind. To help him accomplish this, he has formed a dangerous group of E.V.O.s called the Pack. He claims to know all about Rex and his past, a fact he often uses to try to persuade Rex to join his cause. History Background Van Kleiss was a scientist who participated in the original Nanite Project along with Dr. Gabriel Rylander. 1.09, "Dark Passage" When the Nanite Event occurred five years ago, Van Kleiss was in close proximity to the blast. Afterward, he presumably discovered that he was gifted with the ability to control Abysus, infused with the nanites from the blast. Season One :Main Article: History of Van Kleiss (First Season) Season Two :Main Article: History of Van Kleiss (Second Season) Season Three Riddle of the Sphinx It is revealed that Van Kleiss was sent to ancient Egypt by Breach's time-traveling portal. He was shown in one of the hieroglyphs that Black Knight took from the tomb which she destroyed, which indicates that he had some involvement due to the creation of the mummy-like E.V.O. called Gharun Set and the fabled Hall of Records. 3.04, "Riddle of the Sphinx" A Brief History of Time When Breach transported him through time, it was revealed that she landed him in ancient Egypt during the second kingdom era. It was also revealed that he created Gharun Set, but was forced to abandon him in that time period before Van Kleiss had a chance to destroy him. He then awakened in the second century AD where he was captured by Roman legionnaires and taken back to Rome along with his hibernation chamber where he was taken to be a gladiator. Quite quickly he was able to defeat the other gladiators and use a small amount of his remaining nanites to create an EVO out of a lion. Soon after he convinced the Roman emperor to allow him a place to work in exchange for Van Kleiss giving the Romans advances in metallurgy and tactics to ensure the Romans' growth and security. Weeks later he was forced to hibernate again before what he thought was a time anti-body could destroy him. Every time he was forced to use his hibernation chamber it lasted less and less and he was moved around to every great civilization throughout the ages. Meanwhile, he began losing bits and pieces of who he was until he could no longer remember his own name, only knowing that he must get back to his own time both before he ran out of nanites and before the time anti-body could destroy him. When he made it back to the present, he was practically insane because of all that he had went through. Back at Providence Headquarters, Van Kleiss was dragged down the halls by a pair of Black Pawns and unceremoniously tossed into a room to await his fate. A moment after the agents left, Black Knight entered the office and snidely mentioned that he looked terrible. She questioned whether or not he recognized her, but at first Van Kleiss seemed to be just as paranoid and unstable as before. He quickly snapped out of it upon seeing her up close, finally recovering a semblance of his former composure. He feebly mentioned that it'd been a long time. Mind Games When Providence captures Peter Meechum, one of the original scientists from the Nanite Project, they take him back to Headquarters to rejoin his former colleagues in completing their original work. Ceasar gives him a tour of the facilities, during which Meechum displays curiosity at the idea of restarting the Nanite Project. He asks who their programmer will be, only for Rex's brother to reveal Van Kleiss being held prisoner in a room littered with several drawings depicting possible ideas for research. Peter Meechum remains disgusted at the idea of working with his enemy. During this encounter, Van Kleiss still appears to be in a frantic and paranoid state of mind, shouting randomly at no one in particular while muttering his scientific ideas under his breath. Upon seeing Peter, he reacts with a sense of shock and nostalgia before hastily returning to his work. At the end of the episode, Van Kleiss is seen talking to himself again, although at this point he seems to have come to a new conclusion in his research. Target: Consortium Van Kleiss is shown again alongside the other Nanite Project scientists, the group having been sent to a Providence Research Facility in order to complete their work on the new Nanite Reactor. Due to his continued mental instability, he continues to blurt out nonsensical phrases when spoken to, although during this time his insanity doesn't appear to interfere with his ability to participate in the project. When Rex, Six, and Jungle Cat break into this facility to kidnap the members of the Consortium, Jungle Cat attacks Van Kleiss in order to take his revenge for being turned to stone. Due to his mental health, the mad scientist does not acknowledge their past conflicts and instead begins babbling about a cat he once owned. Rex asks the other scientists if there's any reason why they shouldn't kill the former Pack Leader, but a revived Gabriel Rylander vouches for Van Kleiss on the grounds that the world still needs him. Seeing that the object of his hatred is no longer worth killing, Jungle Cat angrily tosses Van Kleiss aside. They are then interrupted by the arrival of Black Knight and a slew of Providence Agents, resulting in battle between Rex's group and the enemy soldiers. At the end of the episode, Van Kleiss is seen with his colleagues as they activate the Nanite Generator. It is also breifly implied that he is faking his insanity. Endgame, Part 1 While storming the Plant to take back the remaining Meta-Nanites, Black Knight managed to stop Rex by dragging Feakins onto the battlefield. She then prepares to kill the helpless teenager with a gun, but Van Kleiss steps onto the scene and stops her from shooting Rex. Although she seems annoyed with the interruption, he quickly reveals that there is a Meta-Nanite resting inside of Rex. Black Knight seems unsure of whether of not to believe him, but has two Black Pawns sedate Rex and transport him back to the Consortium's Research Facility. Later on at the laboratory, Black Knight orders Van Kleiss to escort Rex to a chamber so they can extract the Meta-Nanite. Once Rex has been strapped down and his powers temporarily sealed off, his archenemy displays amusement towards the proceedings and mentions that Rex was always "very special" due to the secrets that had lay inside of him. Before he can say much else, Caesar walks in and decides to speak to his brother alone. The Nanite Scientists activate the chamber to rejoin all five Meta-Nanites together, but Rex is still unaware of what exactly Caesar and the others are trying to do and struggles to prevent the fusion, and his actions do not do unnoticed by the research team. Rylander berates Caesar for hiding the truth and tells him to explain their true objectives to Rex, but the communication system mysteriously malfunctions. Van Kleiss is seen smirking with a broken piece of the device in his hand, having sabotaged it to prevent Rex from learning the truth. When the Consortium and Black Knight gain the power of the nanites, they notice limitations and blame Rex for ruining everything. Van Kleiss mentions to himself that neither Caesar nor the Consortium got what they wanted in the end, and seems highly amused by this. Personality Cunning and manipulative, Van Kleiss does not hesitate to seize opportunities to further his plans. He is cold and ruthless when it comes to achieving his goals. If a Pack member does not comply with Van Kleiss' orders, he will turn them to stone by draining their nanites and place their petrified bodies in his garden. 1.01, "The Day That Everything Changed" Van Kleiss talks in a polite manner most of the time, even during battle or while taunting his opponents. He has a bit of a humorous side to him, as shown when he stopped in mid-battle just to ask Rex why he was "taking out his frustrations on a wall". However, Van Kleiss' polite attitude is just a way to hide the darker side of his personality, and he has been able to trick many people at first before seeing his malevolent nature. He is shown to be an apt planner, secretly transporting nanite-infused soil under the city to make himself as powerful as he was in Abysus as he attempted to take over the UN. He keeps a level head nearly all of the time, even in a situation where the odds are against him. 1.07, "Leader of the Pack" He strongly dislikes Providence, stating that he does not like them meddling with his plans. He does not like the fact that people see Providence as "saviors", as Van Kleiss sees himself as the true "savior". He purposely did not announce his arrival in New York City or about his diplomatic immunity, so that Providence would attack him and his henchmen, just for the purpose of humiliating them. Furthermore, when Rex asked Van Kleiss why he always tries to destroy a cure, Van Kleiss responded that he live off of nanites and what Providence calls a "cure", he calls it as "death"." After returning to his own time, Van Kleiss seems to have reach a fragile state of mind, for example, when he left his pod, he was shouting hysterically that "it ''(Breach in a separate timestream) was coming" and ran away as fast as he could. In Mind Games, while alone, he recites what he writes, talking to himself and yelling at no-one in particular. It was hinted several times that he was faking his insanity. This is shown in the last part of "A Brief History of Time" when he showed clarity while talking to Black Knight. Also, during "Target: Consortium", when he was being threatened by Jungle Cat, he also displayed a sense of clarity before being thrown across the room. His madness is finally revealed to be a ruse in Endgame, Part 1, when he purposely works to ensure that neither Caesar or the Consortium achieve what they desire from the Meta-Nanites. Physical Appearance Van Kleiss is a tall, broad, middle-aged man that is always clad in dark clothes and boots. His face is long and drawn under the eyes, which are a dark red. His long black hair has silver streaks on the left and right ends of his bangs, which almost frames his face. Before he was cured by Rex, his clothing seemed to be a part of him as it regrew whenever he resurrected himself. He has several mechanical parts from his right arm to his chest. The most notable is his large, golden gauntlet that he uses to drain nanites from other E.V.O.s. The tips of the fingers end in large, blunt pins; only when he's about to feed do the pins extend into needles. The other inorganic parts of him are a large circular yellow hole in his chest that is linked to a large metal collar and possibly down to his right hand. After being cured, Van Kleiss's mechanical hand was fully restored to a normal hand. 1.15, "What Lies Beneath" Although not shown, at some point he must have later created an upgraded version of his gauntlet. 1.21, "Payback" When he attempted to address the UN General Assembly at a formal event, he wore a black suit and his hair slicked back. After his adventures from the past to the present, he has grown a full beard and a mustache and his hair is a bit messy, but he shaved his beard off and his hair is no longer messy. Powers and Abilities Formerly *'Enviroment manipulation': In Abysus, Van Kleiss was extremely powerful. As the land was seeded with nanites, he could manipulate the whole environment and summon strong roots, vines, and creepers that could grab, hold up things, and aid his movement. He could even make it rain at just one spot. He could also form roots out of his body and use them as makeshift weapons. While in Abysus, he seemed to be immortal and could regenerate himself no matter how great the wound. He was so strong in Abysus that his enemies would not dare attack him there. Providence once sent an army to save Rex in Abysus, but in the end they were all wiped-out with ease. Six was the only survivor of the rescue team. On trips out of Abysus, he was seen transporting nanite-infused soil with him. It was shown that he would die without the Abysian soil, or at least be severely weakened. His body also acted as an organic stabilizer for the highly unstable nanites in Abysus. Dr. Holiday theorized that he was bonded to them at the molecular level and as a result Rex killing him made them more unstable. Indeed without him the nanites turned vicious and began to eat Abysus from the inside out and became roving swarms of black goo. Currently After being cured by Rex, Van Kleiss lost all of his original powers as an E.V.O., but claimed he still had his greatest strength: his intellect. When he reappeared later, his entire arm is bio-mechanical. *'Van Kleiss's Gauntlet: The gauntlet gives Van Kleiss superhuman strength, as he was able to throw a giant, multi-ton stone slab 2.04, "Alliance" and easily punch through solid rock. 1.21, "Payback" His hand is capable of extending some 10-30 feet, providing him with long-range attacks. He also has the ability to quickly fire a multitude of sharp spines from the gauntlet's fingertips. 2.01, "Rampage" Additionally, his gauntlet is equipped with an electric weapon that's strong enough to destroy rock. :* '''Nanite Absorbtion: Though more of a survival mechanism than a power, Van Kleiss could also use his gauntlet to drain the nanites out of other E.V.O.s, resulting in the E.V.O. being petrified and turned into a stone statue. The E.V.O.s that have been turned to stone are actually alive in their petrified state, some even able to break free with concentration, and are turned to stone again when their concentration is broken. 2.17, "Grounded" :* E.V.O. Creation: After absorbing all of Rex's active nanites (excluding the Omega-1 Nanite), Van Kleiss gained the ability to create E.V.O.s. These E.V.O.s are marked with a bright golden handprint where he grabbed them. The E.V.O.s he creates are highly unstable and if not cured in time will become incurable. Other Abilities *'Hand-to-hand combat': Van Kleiss is also incredibly agile and fast, as when a gladiator attacked him, he appeared behind him instantly. He is also skilled in hand-to-hand combat, easily taking out several well-trained gladiators with ease. *'Leadership' Van Kleiss is shown to control an army of E.V.O.s under his command. His most powerful and elite E.V.O.s are formed into a group known as "the Pack". It is currently unknown how he is able to control the less intelligent E.V.O.s, while more intelligent ones could have been "persuaded" to join his cause. Relationships Biowulf Biowulf is the second in command of the Pack and is leader of all the missions outside Abysus, seeing as Van Kleiss is limited to his home. Biowulf is very loyal to Van Kleiss. However, he is showing signs of tiring of Biowulf's continued failures and thus has begun drifting away from him. Rex classifies him as "not a normal lap dog". Breach Breach was a very useful asset to the Pack given her special powers. The only reason why Van Kleiss wants her with him at all times and not the others was that he could easily escape through her portals if needed. However, the nature of her powers allowed her to rescue the Pack if necessary. Van Kleiss was later abusing her power by placing a machine to enhance her powers that can open the portal through time. His quarrel with Rex caused her to distrust him. After Rex returned her powers, Van Kleiss laughed and mocked at his decision. But to his least expectation, Breach had sent him away first using her powers. 2.19, "Lions and Lambs" Circe :"Never forget how I found you, Circe. What you were...before."—Van Kleiss to Circe. She had evidently tried to join the Pack on her own. Her apparent use to Van Kleiss is that Rex wants to be closer to her 1.03, "Beyond the Sea". For a while, Circe had shown loyalty to Van Kleiss believing his way was the best for the EVO's. Later, she left the Pack when she disagreed with his decision regarding Van Kleiss' true intention of using Rex's powers. After Circe left, It is revealed by Breach that Van Kleiss didn't take betrayal lightly. Breach told Circe that Van Kleiss had been looking forward to "chatting with her" and wanted to punish Circe for betraying him. 2.14, "Hard Target" Jungle Cat An E.V.O. who showed promise, but after he accidentally destroyed Van Kleiss' nanite dirt suit in "Dark Passage." He is then petrified by Van Kleiss who drained nanites and which turned him to stone. Then his stone form is knocked to the ground by Biowulf. In the "Grounded" episode he has learned to temporarily overcome petrification and joins with providence to seek his revenge on Van Kleiss. Rex Salazar :"Oh, if only I had the chance to get through to you, Rex. To teach you how the world really works."— Van Kleiss to Rex. Van Kleiss' true relationship with Rex is unknown as of now. He claims to know about Rex's past and his family but will only reveal this if Rex willingly joins him. They have already fought each other several times and Rex is determined to take Van Kleiss down. He also claims that Rex is very important to him, for what reason though remains a mystery. Although Rex is significant, he notes that he will eliminate Rex if he keeps getting in his way. The two have been shown ready to kill each other, but so far they have been interrupted each time. It seems that Rex is not his main target, but could be a primary target, since he stated to Rex that "it is not always about you." Van Kleiss took Rex's nanites and has been able to turn people into E.V.O.s since then. He did not seem to care what would happen to Rex after that, as he let Biowulf throw him out of the plane, though he regained interest when Rex got back his powers. 1.21, "Payback" It is later revealed that he is only interested in Rex's abilities, not his mind. 2.04, "Alliance" When both Van Kleiss and Rex were trapped in a sandstorm, they formed a temporary truce. During that time, Van Kleiss revealed information about the Omega-1 nanite, which he already knew was inside Rex. 2.12, "Written in Sand" Rex used his technopathic powers to open some sort of 100% nanite wall and it opened the way to a nanite laboratory. Once inside, he was able to say his name in front of a machine and it opened up to reveal a machine which held a Master Nanite. Rex believed that this was the reason that Van Kleiss wanted Rex so badly, so that he could get the Master Nanite. 3.09, "Assault on Abysus" Gabriel Rylander :"And as for you, doctor, consider our past disagreement settled."— Van Kleiss to Dr. Rylander They worked together on research for the Nanite Project five years ago. They came face to face again where Van Kleiss stopped Rylander from telling Rex the information about his family by stabbing him with the needles on his bio-mechanical hand. Van Kleiss said that Rylander knew nothing of truth or loyalty and that he would continue the research on his own. Rylander saved Rex from further harm by knocking both himself and Van Kleiss into the unstable nanite reactor, disintegrating them both. Caesar Salazar :"Do ''not ''place your trust in Caesar. He's not the man you believe him to be."—Van Kleiss warns Rex about Ceasar. Van Kleiss is shown to be greatly displeased by Caesar's unexpected return. The feeling is most likely mutual as Caesar called him a "third-rate lab hack". Van Kleiss claimed that Caesar himself was the one responsible for the release of incomplete nanites into the atmosphere five years ago. He added that Caesar is not to be trusted and that he is not who Rex believes him to be. 2.07, "Mixed Signals" This was later proven to be true when Caesar revealed the truth about the Nanite Project. He resented Caesar to this very day for releasing the incomplete nanites. 3.08, "Black and White Black Knight Despite spending over six months missing after disappearing through one of Breach's time portals, Van Kleiss appears to know who she is. Upon being brought to Black Knight's office following his arrest by Providence, her presence causes him to snap out of his madness. It is implied that the two were not only acquainted, but that they also know each other well. This is supported by the fact that Van Kleiss told his "son" Gharun Set that he can never trust Black Knight. Appearances Trivia * It was noted by Six that Providence knew about Van Kleiss and the Pack before Rex joined Providence. However, the Pack had never caused any problems up until the start of the series. * Van Kleiss is the first character in the series to be seen bleeding. * Despite losing his previous original powers, he claimed that he has retained his nanite hunger. * Van Kleiss is revealed to know that Rex has the Omega-1 Nanite. It would seem that he knew Rex's parents very well, enough to say that Rex takes after his mother. * The name "Van Kleiss" is Dutch meaning "of the Earth", a nod to his power over Abysus' soil and vegetation. * In "Riddle of the Sphinx", Van Kleiss makes a brief cameo appearance in hieroglyphics. This is also shown in Cartoon Network's Action Pack comic, Hero Times Two, which was published before the episode was released. * Van Kleiss, especially during his earlier appearances, has used very little technology, using E.V.O.s as vehicles instead of machines. * Van Kleiss may be ambidextrous since he can use his gauntlet and write with his right hand normally. 3.14, "Mind Games" References }} Category:Characters Category:E.V.O.s Category:Human E.V.O.s Category:The Pack Category:Males Category:Scientists Category:Van Kleiss